1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer equipment enclosures, particularly, drive enclosures that when mounted to a computer chassis, allow drives to remain horizontal whether the chassis is in a tower or a desktop/rack orientation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many computer chassis are designed to be used in more than one orientation, for example a vertical orientation (i.e. tower orientation) and a horizontal orientation (i.e. desktop or rack orientation). Problems can occur when the orientation of some computer components within the computer chassis is improper. For instance, some peripheral devices or computer system components (generally referred to as "drives") including disk drives and tape drives perform only in limited orientations. Examples include Quantum Corporation's DLT.TM. tape backup drive which can only operate in a vertical orientation while on its left side, Iomega Corporation's Zip.TM. drive which can only operate in a vertical orientation while on its right side, and some CD-ROM drives which only operate in a horizontal orientation. For all of these drives, the simplest solution is to ensure that the drive is mounted in a horizontal orientation, regardless of the orientation of the computer chassis.
Prior art drive bays satisfy this need by being installable in a variety of orientations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,068, entitled "Computer Case with Adjustable Drive Housing for Interchangeable Desktop/Tower Configuration and Control Panel Attachable to the Drive Housing," discloses a computer case which can be used in either a desktop or tower orientation while maintaining drives horizontal to the support surface on which the case rests, in either orientation. FIG. 1 shows such a prior art drive bay 100 with mating channels 110 for attaching drives to the housing, and tabs 120 with holes 130 for mounting the drive bay to the front plate of a computer chassis.
With the prior art drive bay of FIG. 1, one must decide in which orientation to mount the drive bay when the computer system is first assembled. This requires the chassis to be configured at the factory, and the orientation of the drive bay will depend upon the desired orientation of the computer chassis. If the computer system is already assembled in one orientation, and the user wishes to change that orientation, the user must perform a number of steps. First, the bezel, hood, or front face of the computer case must be removed. Then the drives must be disconnected from their cables and removed from the drive bay. Next, the drive bay is reoriented, allowing the drives to lie in a horizontal orientation with respect to the computer system's new orientation. The drives are reoriented, installed in the housing, and reconnected to their cables. Finally, the bezel, hood, or front face of the computer case is replaced. Both the "first assembled" and the "subsequent reorientation" scenarios present added and unwanted steps to computer system configuration.
Additionally, the prior art bay of FIG. 1 is designed to be mounted to the front plate of a computer chassis so that the bay can more easily be mounted in either of its horizontal or vertical orientations. However, chassis with the drive bay mounted to the front plate are structurally weaker than they need be because advantage is not taken of the added structure of the drive housing.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a drive bay for a computer chassis that allows drives to be mounted horizontally with respect to the support surface on which the chassis rests, regardless of the orientation of the drive bay or the computer chassis. Additionally, it is desirable to have such a drive bay that enhances the structural integrity of the chassis in which it is mounted.